MP Materials (NYSE:MP) Trading 7.9% Higher - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• MP Materials jumped 7.9% on Thursday to about $66.14, trading as high as $66.19 with volume roughly 21% below its average session level.
• Analysts show a mixed picture but the consensus is a "Buy" with an average price target of $79.08, even as firms like Morgan Stanley recently cut their target to $62.00.
• In its latest quarter MP posted $0.09 EPS (beating estimates) but revenue of $52.7M missed forecasts and the company reported a negative net margin (‑38.26%) and declining sales year-over-year.

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 7.9% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $66.19 and last traded at $66.1390. 5,505,134 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 21% from the average session volume of 6,992,282 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.30.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of MP Materials from $71.00 to $62.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of MP Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, March 8th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of MP Materials in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $79.08.

MP Materials Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $11.75 billion, a PE ratio of -127.19 and a beta of 1.67. The firm's fifty day moving average is $57.41 and its 200 day moving average is $60.43. The company has a current ratio of 7.24, a quick ratio of 6.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $52.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.06 million. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 38.26% and a negative return on equity of 4.28%. The firm's revenue was down 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.12) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that MP Materials Corp. will post 0.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MP Materials

In other MP Materials news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 259,179 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total transaction of $16,595,231.37. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,505,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at $800,756,938.95. The trade was a 2.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 46,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $2,760,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 129,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,020. This trade represents a 26.28% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 346,000 shares of company stock worth $21,969,816. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MP Materials

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Calamos Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MP Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $16,726,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new position in MP Materials in the third quarter valued at about $670,000. Private Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in MP Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $9,702,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in MP Materials in the third quarter valued at about $550,000. Finally, Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in MP Materials in the third quarter valued at about $1,089,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.55% of the company's stock.

MP Materials Company Profile

MP Materials Corporation operates as a vertically integrated producer of rare earth materials in North America. The company owns and manages the Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine and Processing Facility in California, the only commercially viable rare earth mining and processing site in the United States. MP Materials extracts, separates and refines critical rare earth elements—such as neodymium, praseodymium, and cerium—which are essential inputs for permanent magnets used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, and various defense applications.

The Mountain Pass mine first began commercial rare earth production in the 1950s and was later operated by Molycorp until its bankruptcy in 2015.

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